AZAEP Board Members

Eileen Baden, President

Ms. Baden has a master’s degree in Urban and Environmental Planning from ASU, and completed her bachelor’s degree in Economics from Virginia Tech with a minor in Environmental Policy and Planning. Ms. Baden wrote a master plan and conducted public outreach for a community park in Eagar, AZ and coordinated a technical advisory committee and public meetings for a new state park, Rockin’ River Ranch, in Camp Verde, AZ.

Previously, Ms. Baden, AICP, worked as an Environmental Planner at Logan Simpson as well as Archaeological Consulting Services, both in Tempe, AZ. In these roles she served as a project manager completing environmental compliance reports associated with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Additionally, she taught an introductory workshop on Environmental Planning and NEPA at ASU in the fall of 2017. She specializes in socioeconomic demographic analysis, project management, and public outreach.

Eileen has been an active member of AZAEP since 2012 and served as Secretary from 2014 to 2016, and on the AZAEP Scholarship Committee in 2016.

Jeff Johnson, Vice President

Biologist & Environmental Planner

SWCA Environmental Consultants, Phoenix

Mr. Johnson has a Bachelor of Science in Plant Biology with an Environmental Science and Biology focus and a Master of Science in Plant Biology, both from Arizona State University.

With over 12 years of professional experience as a biologist/environmental planner with several consulting firms, his expertise includes conducting impact analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act for complex projects across multiple jurisdictions. He has served as project manager, field manager and field technician for both regulatory biology and environmental compliance projects with multiple agencies including U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, U.S. Forest Service, Arizona State Land Department, Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, Arizona Game and Fish Department, Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe, Nevada Department of Wildlife, and multiple municipalities.

Jeff joined AZAEP in 2006 and was previously AZAEP's Secretary from 2016 to 2018.

Brianna Zurita, Secretary

Mrs. Zurita graduated from the University of Arizona in 2016 with a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies and again in 2018 with a Master of Public Policy. Additionally, she has two Post-Baccalaureate Certificates in Water Policy, and Administration and Management of American Indian Natural Resources. With positions previously held at the University of Arizona Institute of the Environment, the Center for Climate Adaptation Science and Solutions, and the United States Department of Agriculture, her areas of interest include Colorado River issues, environmental and water resource economics and policy analysis, wildlife conservation, climate change adaptation, conservation planning, natural resources, the National Environmental Policy Act, and the Endangered Species Act.

Brianna has been an Environmental Planner with SWCA Environmental Consultants since May 2018. She joined AZAEP in July 2017 as an At-Large Board Member and was elected as Secretary in 2018.

Dorothy Hallock, Treasurer

Jennie Curé, At-Large Board Member

Ms. Curé has a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Keene State College as well as a Master of Science in Technology-Environmental Technology Management from Arizona State University. Jennie also has a diverse background as a registered Landscape Architect in Arizona, and as an environmental scientist in project design, development and management of a wide variety of environmental projects. These projects include, Agricultural Field Reclamation Utilizing Native grass Crop Production-Lower San Pedro Watershed, Regional Transportation Vulnerability Assessment-Understanding the Impact of Climate Change on Critical Infrastructure and the FEMA Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan for the Greater Bridgeport Region.

With her position at AZDEQ, Jennie currently works with partners and grantees to support the award and management of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s State Response Grant for the State of Arizona. She has been instrumental in awarding more than one million dollars of grant funding to local governments, non-profits, and hospital, school, police and fire districts within the past three years. She is also working with partners to develop solutions for communities facing illegal dumping and recycling challenges.

She joined AZAEP in 2009 and has been an At-Large Board Member since.

Jill Heilman, At-Large Board Member

Ms. Heilman received her Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and a Master of Science in Palaeopathology, Osteology, and Funerary Archaeology. She has held numerous staff positions, including project director, crew chief, field technician, lab director, and instructor with 15 years of cultural resource management experience in Arizona and additional work in New Mexico, Indiana, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Belize, and South Africa.

Ms. Heilman’s past experience includes work as an on-call archaeologist and laboratory director at EcoPlan Associates where she was hired as an archaeologist involved in report writing and archaeological surveys. Subsequently, she has worked extensively in a variety of areas, including historic preservation research, compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), excavating and analyzing human remains, and testing and data recovery. In 2012, Ms. Heilman became EcoPlan’s laboratory director. She has an extensive background in coordinating pre-fieldwork mobilization, post-fieldwork processing of artifacts, and inventory of archaeological collections and has assisted with the preparation of archaeological collections for curation. She also has experience with artifact analysis and the creation and maintenance of electronic databases. Her duties as laboratory director also included ensuring compliance with agency regulations and permitting.

About Us

David McIntyre, At-Large Board Member

Mr. McIntyre has a master’s degree in Geography from San Diego State University and completed his bachelor’s degree in History from the U.S. Naval Academy. David has over 18 years of professional experience as a project manager/environmental planner. He started his career at the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground before spending several years with EDAW in San Diego, CA. He moved to Ecology and Environment and started their San Diego office before moving to Tucson, AZ. Mr. McIntyre spent 2.5 years with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) as a planning and environmental coordinator before leaving to start his own firm with his wife, Elizabeth. His expertise includes conducting impact analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). He has extensive experience preparing NEPA documents for the U.S. Army, Navy, and Marine Corps as well as preparing NEPA and CEQA documents for a variety of renewable energy and transmission projects in California, Nevada, and Arizona. He has also worked extensively on land use planning documents for the BLM as well as NEPA documents for several tribes.

Mr. McIntyre was very active in the San Diego County AEP from 2001 to 2011 and joined AZAEP in 2017.

Michael Dawson, Past President

Mr. Dawson has a degree from the University of Arizona in Natural Resources and Recreation Management. Having extensive experience in the environmental, community involvement, and transportation fields, his background encompasses 30 years in the federal, state, county, and private consulting sectors, preparing or directing land use plans, corridor studies, feasibility studies, and National Environmental Policy Act documentation.

He is experienced in working with multiple jurisdictions and interest groups to help solve complicated local and regional issues in projects. His thorough knowledge of the environmental field, permitting issues, and regulatory requirements assists in the planning and engineering elements of a project. His career has included working for the Bureau of Land Management, Arizona Department of Transportation, Maricopa County Department of Transportation, and several consulting firms. He has been with EcoPlan since 2006 and manages the Tucson office.

Mike served as an At-Large AZAEP Board member from 2005 to 2010, as Vice President 2012 to 2014 and most recently as President from 2014 to 2018.